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It’s two weeks before my first yontef davenning in ’63, and I’m terrified. My teacher, Willie Bogzester (“Buck-chester”) has prepared me very well for all the big moments, but this little Orthodox shul on Avenue C in Bayonne New Jersey where I was hired to sing for $700 skipped nothing—down to the most obscure Piyyut, […]

In March of ’82, I get a call from Fredda’s opera agent at 10 am. “Where’s La Fredda?” he asks. “Out grocery shopping,” says I. “Can you get her and drive down to the Met?” says Pietro. “What’s going on Peter?” I say. “There’s a Mezzo emergency at the Met. Mignon Dunn is supposed to […]

In the fall of ’65, I started classes at the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music. Among the upperclassmen was a giant, hulking bear of a man named Stanley Rich. In a student body filled with “characters,” Stanley stood out. Behind his chain smoking “hit man” veneer was a man of great intellect, borderline […]